Brother
by Kopy.Kunoichi
Summary: What happens when Tieria confronts Lyle after he sees him kiss Feldt? Will this change things between the short-tempered Meister and the pink-haired girl? Read and find out...and then respond. : Could be considered a follow-up to "Close".


** – Hey guys! So I felt like writing this because I always wondered what it would have been like if these two had been closer. Especially after Tieria got so **_**nice **_**in season two… So yeah, R&R peeps! And again…don't sue me…I have no money.**

**Brother**

"He's not really Lockon," Feldt kept repeating to herself as she watched Lyle Dylandy practice his aim on the simulator. He wasn't as fast or accurate as his brother either, but that was inconsequential. The point was: he was not the man she had fallen in love with all those years ago. True, he was Neil's identical twin brother. They looked the same, sounded the same…even shared some of the same mannerisms. But she was not in love with this man. All the same, she had a hard time not watching him. The said person walking straight towards her snapped her out of her reverie. Panicking, she turned away from him to hide her embarrassment.

"Hi, is something the matter?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing's wrong," she answered quickly.

"I think you're name is Feldt, right? I keep feeling like you're…looking at me. Why is that?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm just…you know…" her voice trailed off.

"Feldt liked Lockon! Feldt liked Lockon!" the flying robot at her side announced. He had been Lockon's co-pilot so to speak, and he was the only one besides Allelujah Haptism who knew her secret.

"Harro!" she scolded, now so humiliated, she felt like turning into a puddle.

"You know I'm not my brother," he stated calmly.

"I didn't mean to…yes I know," she finally said.

"But if you're alright with that we could spend some time together," he suddenly took a step forward, and before she could react, his lips were on hers, pressed firmly but with no emotion.

He pulled back, looking at her with a smug smile. She was still in too much shock to respond.

"If you're up for it, swing by my room –" _smack!_

She pulled her hand back from his face and turned to run from the room. She heard Harro point out that he had 'stuck out'. She raced down the halls as fast as she could, tears running freely down her cheeks. No, this man was certainly not Lockon. Not _her _Lockon. Tieria rounded a corner suddenly, and grabbed her shoulders to avoid a collision.

"Feldt, what's wrong?" he asked, though he already knew since he had seen it on the surveillance feed. He had left the security room right after he saw Lyle kiss her.

"It's nothing," she cried, trying to squirm out of his grasp, but he held on.

"Tell me Feldt," his voice left no room for argument.

She looked up at him – a little surprised to see concern on his features. And something else – his eyes were burning bright red…he looked livid. She took a breath, choking back tears.

"It's Lockon," she admitted.

His fingers flexed almost painfully into her arms.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked, his fury now unmistakable.

"Um, no. Well, he caught me watching him. He pointed it out and I didn't know what to say. Harro told him that I…er…"

"…was in love with Neil," Tieria finished.

Feldt gave him a surprised look, but nodded her head.

"Then he…he grabbed my face…and kissed me," she began crying again. "And then he told me I could come by his room later. So I slapped him and ran away."

"Good," Tieria ground out through clenched teeth. "Feldt, I don't want you to go near him alone again, do you understand?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"He is not Lockon…and I don't trust him."

"Yeah, I know."

"Go back to the bridge, Feldt," he ordered, letting her go and continuing down toward where she came from.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, suddenly worried. Tieria was known for his volatile temper.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon," he answered.

"Please be careful," she pleaded, her voice cracking.

He turned back to her, his features softer now. He put a hand on her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry about _me_," his voice suggested who she should really worry about.

She was shocked by his behavior – Tieria usually never cared for anything besides the mission at hand. After Lockon's death, he had slowly begun warmed up to the other members of the team, but this kind of affection wasn't like him. It intrigued her, but she obeyed him nonetheless and returned to the bridge.

Tieria headed to the training room where he found Lyle reviewing his second round of accuracy ratings. No sooner had the in-training sniper turned to greet him than Tieria landed a solid punch to his jaw. Lyle staggered back, too confused to respond and reeling from the pain, as Tieria pinned him to the consol.

"This is your first and last warning, Dylandy…if you ever touch Feldt again – I'll kill you."

Lyle briefly considered putting up a fight – but he reconsidered for two reasons. First, he didn't want to jeopardize his role as a spy for the Katharon. Second, he knew that Tieria was "not human" according to Setsuna, and he really didn't care to find out what that entailed. So he instead bowed his head slightly in a gesture of submission.

"Listen, I won't go near her. But you should know that I did what I did to show her that I _wasn't _my brother."

"Well, you should have reconsidered your method," Tieria spit back, letting him go and turning to leave the room.

"Why don't you trust me?" Lockon called after him.

"Because you're not him," Tieria answered over his shoulder. "You can never replace him…not in that machine – and not to us," he said coldly.

Lyle didn't answer as Tieria left the room, leaving him to ponder the meister's words. Maybe he was right – he shouldn't have been so cruel to the girl. She clearly loved Neil with all her heart, and he had used that against her. One day, he would as her forgiveness…if Tieria ever let him get that close.

Tieria thought that maybe he had enjoyed that a little too much. He hadn't used Feldt to justify his actions, but it almost felt like he did. _"No," _he told himself. _"I did it because it's what Neil would have done. I think." _He made his way to the observation deck, his usual getaway. Apparently, he wasn't the only one. Feldt was leaning on the rail, looking out at the sea flowing past the window, her back to him. He quietly joined her, giving her time to collect her thoughts. She finally turned to look at him.

"Well, you're not all beat up," she said, forcing a smile. "How's Lyle look?"

"He may or may not have a swollen jaw later," he answered flatly.

"Tieria, you didn't have to do that," she said softly.

"Would _he _have let it slide?" he asked her. She, who knew him best, would know.

She sighed, "No he wouldn't have. He probably would have done the same thing. Yelled at him at the very least," she added.

"Hm," was all Tieria said.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you care enough to confront him? I didn't ask you to."

"Because I'm the reason Lockon wasn't here to do it himself. The least I can do is try to follow his example."

"Tieria," she whispered his name, pausing to collect her thoughts. "It wasn't your fault that Lockon died. He was trying to protect us, that's all."

"It was my inability to disconnect from Veda that led him to take damage that was meant for me. It was his damaged shooting eye that caused him to lose the battle. It _was _my fault."

"Tieria, you locked him out of the hanger, you tried to stop him from joining the battle. He got out and decided to fight even with his injury…no one could have stopped him because that's who he was! It's not your fault he's dead…" she was beginning to cry now.

Talking about this only tore open old wounds.

"None of this changes the fact that I still feel responsible. I have to atone, if only for myself."

"You know, I don't think Neil would have wanted you to help other people for you – I think he would want you to help others for their sakes," Feldt said quietly.

"Hn. I guess that did sound conceited. Feldt, I didn't help you because it would make _me _feel better. Believe it or not, I do care about the other members of this crew."

"Oh, I know that," she said apologetically, trying to wipe away the last of her tears.

She drew close to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, as they both watched the sea rushing past. He wasn't nearly as tall as Lockon, but he still had a comforting presence as he tilted his head toward hers.

"You still wanted to punch him though," she said, giggled a little.

"Um…yeah," he admitted.

"Tieria?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're here. And I'm happy that you're following in Lockon's footsteps."

"Thank you."

They smiled at each other. Tieria was happy that he had made her feel better. Feldt was just happy to have a big brother and a shoulder to lean on.

**Cute, ne? I like Tieria as the big brother type…and I could totally see him giving Lyle what for. LOL. R&R my friends! Love to all! **


End file.
